


Could Have, Would Have, Should Have

by RobinPlaysTrumpet15



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Damian just wants to hold onto Dick for a bit, Dick is a supportive big brother, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Minor OC - Freeform, people are scary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 16:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6290884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinPlaysTrumpet15/pseuds/RobinPlaysTrumpet15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a classmate of Tim's commits suicide, Tim and Damian come home from school not sure what to feel. They didn't really know him, and Damian definitely didn't, being in an entirely different grade. And Dick is here to help no matter what they need of him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Could Have, Would Have, Should Have

**Author's Note:**

> Not all that long. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
> 
> This has only been checked over by me and I am positive I missed stuff. If you find any errors, let me know so I can correct them.
> 
> I began writing this several weeks ago when a student at my school committed suicide seemingly out of the blue. I got half way through and stopped writing and this morning I found it again and decided to finish it. Thanks for reading

Dick was sitting in the dining room, his laptop sitting on the table in front of him when he heard the front door open and close. He figured that Alfred had just gotten back from picking Tim and Damian up from school. It was Friday, and Dick knew that the two teens had been waiting for this all week. Not that it had been a particularly hard week, but Fridays were always cause for excitement in the Wayne household.

The next moment, Alfred was stepping into the room, drawing Dick’s attention from the computer screen for a second.

“Master Dick.” Alfred began.

“Yeah?” the young man replied, looking back at the laptop.

“I believe you should have a talk with Master Timothy and Master Damian.” the older man said, his tone attempting to hide something, Dick could tell.

“How did they try to kill each other this time?” Dick sighed, sitting back in his chair. He reached up and carded his fingers through his hair. He really did need to get it cut. (It was nearly longer than Tim’s.)

“It’s not that.”

Dick looked up at the man strangely for a moment.

“Then what is it?”

“A student at their school committed suicide earlier this morning. The students were informed during the afternoon announcements.” Alfred explained, his voice nearly choking a bit.

“What?” Dick said, his hand falling limply to his lap. “Who was it?”

“One of Master Timothy’s classmates. I believe his name was Uriah.” the man said, his eyes glancing to the floor a moment.

“Alright. Thank you, Alfred. I’ll talk to them.”

*

“Hey, Tim?” Dick called, pushing open the teen’s bedroom door.  
“Yeah?” Tim responded. He had the lights off and was all but hiding beneath the countless blankets on his bed.

“How was school?” The young man entered the room, allowing the door to close behind him. He stepped closer to Tim and sat on the bed beside the teen.

“F-fine.” Dick recognized the shake in his younger brother’s voice. That was the I’m lying but I’m going to pretend I’m not because there shouldn’t be anything wrong quiver. He didn’t head it often, but when he did, Dick worried. Tim had every reason to be upset, he knew. But he also knew that Tim probably didn’t quite understand why he was upset either.

“Timmy, Alfred told me what happened.” Dick whispered. He reached out cautiously, ready to pull his hand away should Tim decide he didn’t want the contact. When the younger made no move to push his hand away, Dick placed it gently where he assumed would be Tim’s shoulder.

“I feel ridiculous…”

Dick’s eyebrows furrowed, a crease appearing between them. “And why’s that, kiddo?”

“I didn’t even really know him. But I want to cry and I want to understand… I want to tell him I care…” Tim responded. Even in the dark, Dick could see the tears welling up in those crystalline blue eyes. They threatened to spill any second, and as much as Dick knew Tim really needed to just let everything out and cry for a while, he couldn’t stand to see it happen. Not without doing something to help him get through it at least…

“You didn’t have to know him well, Tim. Hell, you didn’t even have to know him at all.” He scooted closer to Tim now, rubbing his back.

“It just makes me feel like I shouldn’t be upset, Dick…”

“I know. I’ve been in that position before, Tim. But there’s something about people that’s both extremely awe-inspiring and the scariest thing on earth.” Dick said.

“Hm?”

“It’s the impact we have on other people by just existing. Whether we have actually talked to someone or not, we can still have an impact on them. When someone who has always been around is just suddenly gone, it leaves a blank, empty space behind that it very noticeable. Just by smiling at someone or being near them in a class or something, that can create an impression on someone else. It’s hard to see when everyone is always around, but when someone is gone, it’s blatantly obvious.”

Tim took in a shaky breath, attempting to steady himself for a moment before the tears started falling, dripping onto his pillow. Dick continued to sit with him, gently whispering to him. It’ll be alright and you’re okay and let it out, babybird falling from his lips.

It was only a minute later when Dick looked up at the doorway to see Damian standing there. He looked pretty well kept together, but he was obviously upset. Or, at least it was obvious to Dick. It was in the way he held himself more rigidly than usual, the way his eyes seemed to be just the slightest bit red, and in the way he looked towards Tim with something akin to sympathy. (That was a look the young teen never gave the older boy.) But Dick also saw it in the way Damian looked at him.

Dick held his free hand out to the younger teen and Damian didn’t even hesitate to enter the room and join Dick on the bed. He sat behind his older brother, clutching onto his arm and pressing his face into the back of Dick’s shoulder.

“What if I could have done something, Grayson?” Damian asked.

Dick contemplated that for a moment. Next to them, Tim seemed to be calming himself down to listen. It dawned on Dick that he must have been asking himself that same thing.

“That’s the thing, Damian. You never know. You’ll never know if there was anything that could have been done or if you did all you really could without realizing it.” Dick responded quietly. “It’s a loaded question.”

“But if I could have, I would have…”

“I should have… I should have noticed. How could no one notice that anything was wrong?” Tim asked now.

“Maybe someone did… And maybe it wasn’t enough. Maybe it was just too late.”

“That is not good enough…” Damian mumbled.

“No, I guess it’s not, Dami. I’m sorry.” Dick knew there wasn’t anything to apologize for, he was perfectly aware of that. But he felt that it still needed to be said.

“You two know that if you ever need to talk to me, you can, right?” Dick offered. Tim and Damian both nodded, seeming content to just sit with their older brother for a while.

**Author's Note:**

> The thing Dick says about people is actually something my band teacher told me several weeks ago when a student at my school killed himself. Tim's position is very much based on how I felt at the time because I hadn't really known the kid at all. Thanks for reading.
> 
> R.I.P. Jacob Marek


End file.
